Near Chaos Research

It's that time again!

It's that time again

7/n I'll wrap up with the big takeaway: Getting into the shape you want to be in isn't about treating the symptoms, it's about identifying the causes and addressing them. No one solution works for everyone and there's nothing wrong with getting help. Finding a type of exercise that's fun helps too.

6/n Some weeks were fast, some were slow, some I even gained a pound or two, but across this year I've averaged 1.77lbs/week of weight loss. I still eat all the foods I enjoy, just at this point I've dialed in the portion sizes and frequency and put that along side a lot of healthy habits.

5/n With hunger/cravings under control the next step was to stay active, as I'd started playing disc golf regularly a few months prior and dial my calorie intake to somewhere between 1500-1800/day. Did I go over some days? Sure. Most days though were right in that range and that kept it on track.

4/n Ok, problem identified, now what? The next step was talking to my doctor about what I believed the core issue to be and working with them to find a solution. For me, we landed on Wellbutrin XL as an appetite suppressant. Luckily for me, I had no negative side effects and it was very effective.

3/n So, what did I do in the lead up to 2025? I spent some time thinking on what the core things I struggled with were when it came to health/weight loss/etc. and the thing I landed on was this: When I wasn't actively engaged in a task I'd often get hungry even if I didn't need to eat.

2/n from 2020-2022 I managed to get down to a low of 255 during the filming of BattleBots WCVII but plateaued hard. 2024 was a rough year for a multitude of reasons and culminated with having to get a chunk of bone screwed back into my thumb. That gets us to 2025 where I started at 286lbs.

Picture at just under 200lbs from Dec. 10th, 2025

Official photo from BattleBots in 2018, probably ~330lbs

1/n Today I hit a major milestone in something I've been working at for years. Weighed in this morning at 199.2lbs. For context, back during BattleBots season 3 I was likely around 330lbs.

I decided that once I hit 200 I'd put up info on the approach that worked for me in the hopes it helps people.

Chaos Corps Logo Shirt S M L XL 2XL 3XL Width, in 18.50 20.51 22.24 24.02 25.25 26.73 Length, in 27.99 29.49 30.98 32.25 32.99 33.50 Size tolerance, in 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 This comfy and casual t-shirt m…

For anyone that wants them Chaos Corps shirts are now available at nearchaos.net/product/chao...

YouTube video by Robot Battles Robot Battles 73 Antweights

Video from Robot Battles 73 is up:

Antweight- youtu.be/CNPdFRrmsck
Beetleweight- youtu.be/vgdUVegZvxw
Hobbyweight- youtu.be/Uq_uRdgrSmo
Featherweight- youtu.be/lqTk3WhSn6M

#RobotCombat #DragonCon

Antix, Off/Set, and Flux are ready for @dragoncon.org Robot Battles

#RobotCombat #DragonCon #Maker

YouTube video by MikeNCR Off/Set First Test

Introducing Off/Set, the newest bot to join the team.

youtu.be/L1TKSfLNdQI

#RobotCombat #DragonCon #3DPrinting

Flux is ready to fight. #RobotCombat #DragonCon

Picture showing the internals of my 30lb combat robot Flux.

A quick peek inside of Flux.

IT’S ALIVE — BattleBots FaceOffs Episode 3 is out now — and it’s full-throttle chaos.
💥 Lucky
🎰 Jackpot
💀 Malice
⚡️ Disarray

Three veteran bots. One gutsy rookie. Six savage fights. Who walks away with the Giant Washer? Watch now and find out:

👉 youtu.be/Mcd-E-gcGSg

YouTube video by MikeNCR Flux Rebuild First Drive Test

Wrapped up the Flux rebuild and it's driving great: www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV2I...

It’s finally happening. BattleBots FaceOffs Ep. 3 drops Thursday, July 24 at 4PM ET!

Lucky. Jackpot. Malice. Disarray.
3 vets. 1 newcomer. 6 fights. 1 Giant Washer.

Subscribe now — only on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/@BattleBots?...

🚨 LIVE EVENT ALERT 🚨 - Experience the thrill of BattleBots Destruct-A-Thon in Las Vegas with two exciting live events! While you can watch later on YouTube, nothing compares to the live atmosphere. Feel the impacts, smell the burning batteries, meet the teams, and dive into the chaos! #BattleBots

Apparently the secret to acing a hole is self deprecating humor.

Got my first ace today on the same hole where a large group let me play through. Made a joke about how since they let me play through I was gonna immediately shank it into a tree, ended up throwing the cleanest turnover I've ever thrown right into the basket. #discgolf

Staggered Aluminum Hat Rack Bent Aluminum Hat Rack with Staggered Hooks

marketplace.sendcutsend.com/p/CM96P379/s...

Needed a hat rack for the house, decided to design my own. Thanks to the SendCutSend marketplace, now anyone can have one.

TOMORROW. It’s ON.
BattleBots FaceOffs Episode 2 drops Thursday, May 8 — only on YouTube.

MadCatter. Skorpios. Roundhouse. Calypso.
Four bots. Six fights. One Giant Washer.

💥 Don’t miss the carnage.
📺 Watch free on YouTube.

Wheel Casting Wheel Casting There are a few guides out there on casting your own wheels for combat robotics or other projects, but they can be hard to find, skip steps, or are otherwise difficult to approach. Th…

I've been casting a lot of my bots wheels lately and figured documenting the process might be helpful for folks-

nearchaos.net/wheel-casting/

#3DPrinting #RobotCombat

Antix is ready to go. Barring something happening sooner it will debut at Dragon Con Robot Battles. #RobotCombat #3DPrinting #Antweight

The Inkbunny Studios (ink.ing) did an amazing job.

So happy with how this turned out. #BattleBots #RobotWars #Tattoo

YouTube video by MikeNCR Single Tooth Disc Design 101

youtu.be/wjGWWUAugD8

Made a video (with the help of @infernaltank.bsky.social) showing my process for designing balanced single tooth discs.

Decided to make some custom handles for my robot power switches. #3DPrinting #RobotCombat